The present invention relates to a method or methods of reproducing, recoloring and/or of recycling used carpet tiles or carpet pieces and products produced by such methods.
In general, carpet tiles conventionally used at various places such as shops and offices are cleaned on a periodic basis. As years go by, however, the carpet tiles become dirty due to mud, sand, dust, dropped or spilled drink and food, resulting in non-uniform colors and stains. In such cases, the old carpet tiles are, as a rule, replaced with new ones, and the former are discarded.
Such replacement of carpet tiles incurs high cost. Not only the cost of new carpet tiles, but also the cost of removal and disposal of the used carpet tiles. Recently, municipalities have added heavy charges for land filling of used carpet tiles.
Also, destructive recycling by, for example, grinding synthetic fiber carpet tile into small chips and using the chips as either fuel, fill, or to be re-extruded as fiber is costly and does not maximize the inherent value of the used carpet tile. Further, the disposal of used carpet tiles by incineration has recently become an environmental concern.